MyGovIndia’s New Chatbot Feature Will Assist in Locating Nearest Covid-19 Vaccination Centres

New Chatbot feature run by the Central Govt. will help in locating the nearest vaccination centre for covid

Friday, 7th May 2021

In a recent announcement by MyGovIndia, the government of India’s citizen engagement platform has declared that WhatsApp chatbot MyGov Corona Helpdesk will now let users locate Covid-19 vaccination centres nearest to you.

Developed by Mumbai based conversational AI platform Haptik, the chatbot was launched in 2020 to provide assistance in dealing with misinformation about Covid-19 and share authentic information.

A Twitter post by MyGovIndia, as the country embarked on a mammoth inoculation drive against the coronavirus on May 1, stated, “Prepare, don’t panic.”

Being one of the largest API-based helplines, it is only natural that MyGov Corona Helpdesk has decided to integrate with the country’s biggest messaging platform, WhatsApp, to develop this novel feature of finding the nearest vaccination centres.

It has also been recently announced by the government that the chatbot has surpassed 3-crore users and gone on to become a “bridge between citizens and government and ensure dissemination of authentic information, curb rumours, myths and misinformation” in relation to the pandemic.

How to use MyGov Corona Helpdesk to locate nearby COVID-19 vaccination centres:

• You can visit the link or gain access to MyGoV Corona Helpdesk Chatbot with the help of the number- +91 9013151515
• You will get an automated response from the chatbot if you simply type a “Hi” or “Hello”.
• You will get a list of options from the chatbot from which you can pick your query. A new entry, “COVID vaccination – Centres and authentic information” is now option 1. Hence for any query regarding vaccinations, you need to type 1.
• The chatbot will then field a question to you asking whether you are looking for vaccination centre-related information or any other general Covid-19 related information. Again, you need to type 1 if you are looking for information regarding vaccination centres.
• Enter your 6- digit postal PIN code.
• You will be given a list of centres closest to you along with the date when vaccination will be available at that centre and also the number of slots available.
• Along with the above information you will also be given a link to CoWIN portal where you can register and sign in for vaccination.
• The rest of the steps such as booking an appointment can be done through CoWIN.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

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